Caliph

A caliph is a religious successor to the prophet Muhammad in the religion of Islam. Typically, caliphs have acted as emperors, ruling over large empires that ruled over most or all of the Islamic world. From 632 to 1922, many large caliphates have existed, but since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, there is no recognized caliph. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, proclaimed himself "Caliph Ibrahim", but he was not recognized as caliph.